


Not All Jocks Are Bullies

by Vilmarix



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bullying, Episode: s03e16 Elephant's Memory, Friendship, High School, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, Protective!Morgan, Protectiveness, Rescue, Romance, Stereotypes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 19:58:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vilmarix/pseuds/Vilmarix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever wonder if Derek was there at the time of Spencer's worst memory, what would have happen? Here is a retake on 'Elephant Memory'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not All Jocks Are Bullies

It was the last two weeks of school when it happened. Spencer Reid was going to graduate top of his class at the age of twelve, but apparently his classmates didn't seem to be fond of that. This is why he wound beaten up and tied to a flag pole, naked for the whole world to see. To be more specific, the entire school. Lowering his head, trying to block out all the jeering and heckling, the young genius be mentally berated himself for falling for such an obvious trick. Humiliation burnt his skin and he could feel his eyes begin to become wet with hot angry tears, but he knew if he broke down now in front of all these people, he would only encourage them even further. Biting the inside of his cheek and clenching his fists the pre-teen steeled allowed the pain distract to him from the torment.

"What the fuck is this?" A deep agitated voice cut through the taunts.

Reid pulled his eyes up from the ground and looked up, but kept his head down. Last thing he wanted to do was to fall for false hope and be mocked for that as well.

The speaker was the newst addition to the graduating class.

Derek Morgan.

The teenager moved to Vegas from Chicago a few months ago because his mother had received a job offer. The African American had two sisters who were enrolling next year, everyone knew about this because Morgan had jokingly threatened the juniors that if he heard one bad report, he would personally pay a visit. The listeners had laughed light heartedly at the subject; though they knew the teen was very serious in the matter, the senior was quite open with the love, respect and protectiveness he has for his family and no one made fun of that aspect. No one smart, or anyone who had a healthy dose of respect for pain.

Soon as the teen had enrolled at the public high school, Derek had tried at the football teams' annual tryouts in which he was straight away absorbed into the team. This inevitably allowed him to move immediately into the most popular circles.

Derek Morgan was one of those guys who was liked by everyone and hated by no one. The transfer student was the latest heart throb and girls practically threw themselves at him, even the Queen Bee, Alexa Lisband. However no matter how many schoolgirls flocked him or tailed the new student, Morgan always declined all invitations smoothly saying he wanted to focus all his attention on his academic curriculum but kept up with the playful flirting, which seemed to effectively pacify many of the rejected.

In short, the teen was smart, handsome and made an effort to be genuinely nice to everyone; Spencer included.

The twelve year old recalled a memory of when the footballer had helped him in the library. Reid had wanted to read a book, but unfortunately the said book was on the top most shelves at which he couldn't reach it. The genius couldn't find the library ladder anywhere and he didn't want to fall into trouble with the librarian by using a piece of the library furniture as a boost, so he decided to give up and collect it later. However, soon as he turned around he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning back around, preparing for some of the scheduled bullying, he was greeted by the sight of the tall footballer with the desired book in his palm, which was being handed to the brunet. Not knowing how to handle the generosity of the action, the pre-teen muttered a quick thanks before dashing away from the larger male.

Reid's trip down memory lane was cut short when he heard one of the footballers (the brunet recognised as Jake Hooper); respond to Derek's question, "Come one Derek, loose up a little, we are just having a little fun."

Lifting his head ever so slightly, Spencer saw Morgan's eyes narrow and his posture tense up before he retorted, "If it's as fun as you say it is, why not join him?"

"Don't tell me, you actually like the little Brat?"

"I do like him." Derek growled out, straightening himself up, using his height in addition to mass to be intimidating.

At that statement the brunet had lifted his head fully, feeling a strange warmth trickle into his body Reid concentrated on his surroundings to avoid showing any signs of flushing. The pre-teen assumed the intimidation tactic work, for the entire team took a few steps back.

It was public knowledge ever since the incident at the last match at the end of the year that the new kid was a black belt in judo and lived up to the qualification. A fight had broken out at the closing stages of the game, where the losing team were sore losers and had attacked some of their team players. Morgan had rushed into the heat of it all and took down majority of the attackers who were still wearing the protective gear, within fifteen minutes.

Reid was once again snapped out of the train of thought when he heard Derek speak, "You lot just disgust me, picking on someone who has no way of defending themselves and who also happens to be two years younger than a fresher."

The crowd had the decency to look guilty as the accusation and even some of the player gave the impression of being ashamed. However majority of the team, Harper Hillman and Alexa Lisband, looked angry and embarrassed at the turning of the events.

"Well, fuck you Morgan!" The Captain, Terri Catcher, yelled as he tensed up for a fight.

"Try me Terri!" Derek challenged, falling into a judo stance, "You all can come at me and I'll take you all down and since we have an audience, there are plenty of eye witnesses to say that I struck in self defence. That would support the bullying charges to stick on your leaving certificate."

That seemed too penetrated through the thick skulls of the team players and make them see that they would lose, not matter what they tried. Glaring at Derek one last time Terri backed down and walked away from the area grudgingly. Seeing their Captain walk away, the rest of the team followed blindly. After the team left the grounds and the presence of a potential fight was no longer there, the crowd slowly dispersed.

"You will regret ever crossing me, Derek Morgan." Alexa stated in an icy tone.

"You know it's such a pity." The teen replied in a similarly sardonic nature, "To see so much of beauty and brains wasted on a heart gone rotten."

She replied with an equally icy glare, before walking away with Harper along with the remaining of the crowd.

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Derek waited until everyone had cleared from the flag pole area and surveyed the vicinity one last time before working through the ropes. Reid watched as the teen methodically removed them. The footballer was quite efficient in his work, for it was a matter of minutes that he managed to release the brunet from the pole. Not once did the elder teen say or give him a look that would put the genius' self esteem down even further. However the genius wouldn't have cared, he was on cloud nine because it was the first time anyone in his short life had stood up and defended him.

Spencer forgot that nothing was holding him upright for a moment and this automatically made him fall to his knees. Still grasping at what happened today, the pre-teen felt something fall on his bare shoulders.

It was Derek's jacket.

Only then Reid remembered that he still was naked. Forcing the shock back, the genius quickly put his hands through the arms and zipped it up. The coat felt warm against his bare skin and smelt of a spicy aftershave along with something that the brunet could only described as Derek Morgan. The scent the leather jacket gave off, mixed with the scent of the owner soothed and calmed the genius' tormented psych. The leather seemed well worn and soften due to constant use, which gave an idea on how much larger the teen was than him. For the black coat fell to his knees and seemed to have swallowed him whole. This jacket was the one the teen wore every day to school.

"Can you walk?" Reid heard the jock ask in a soft gentle tone.

Trying to stand up the brunet was acutely reminded of the twisted ankle he obtained through the struggled he put up through the beating. Hesitantly shaking his head, Reid anxiously watched the footballer for a reaction.

"I'm going to carry you, if that's okay?" There was something so comforting in the elder male's voice, which made the brunet easy up immediately and nodded.

Derek slowly knelt down and gathered the pre-teen into his arms. One strong arm scooped the genius from under his knees, while the other braced his back as the footballer lifted him with ease. As he was carried, Reid allowed himself to lean into the security and reassurance the larger male offered unintentionally, while he wondered how he was going to return home. Spencer took the bus to school and the mere thought of taking the ride back, dressed like common Vegas prostitute made the embarrassment creep back under his skin.

However the brunet began to notice that the transfer student didn't seem to be headed towards the school exit, but towards the car park instead. Reid recalled that the teen rode a bike to school, for it was one of the aspects that drew girls to the footballer and earn some points of respect from the male community.

Once they reached the bike stand, Morgan gently placed him down near the railing. The teen quickly mounted the bike and manoeuvred it with his feet, next to the brunet. Wearing a helmet, Derek motioned to the genius to lift his arms. Doing so uncertainly, Spencer felt himself being picked up from his underarms and placed on the bike, in front of the rider.

"I'm going to take you to my place, so you could clean up." Morgan stated simply and didn't wait for Reid to give a response since he had already started the bike by then.

"Lean back, 'cause I don't want you to fall." The teen requested before he took off. Spencer obediently did so, for his mind was slowly calculating the probability of dying on a motor bicycle and how they would increase, since he wasn't wearing a helmet. Soon as Derek checked whether everything was alright and in place, they took off.

Spencer absentmindedly paid attention to the ride; since he was more focused on Morgan's riding style. The footballer was careful but quick, however it was obvious taking a passenger in the front was not something he did usually, because the teen kept adjusting the his posture at every red light. Leaning back against the warmth the teenager's body gave, the genius allowed himself to slowly doze off.

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It was about twenty minutes later did they stop at a house in a neighbourhood. It was nothing special about it, just an average residence of a working class family. Derek drove slowly into the garage, where Reid saw a well used family car. Soon as they were in the garage, the footballer reversed the procedure of dismounting the brunet and parked the bike. Once again the genius found himself carried to the front door step.

The pre-teen assumed the mother had been watching, because Morgan didn't have to knock on the door for it to be open by her.

Spencer studied the mother; she was fair skin and had a very maternal appeal. Kind but firm eyes, and a face that was show the starting signs of laughter lines. Looking past the obvious physical difference between Derek and her, one could tell they were related, because they held the same eye shape and strong jaw.

"What happened?" She asked immediately as she looked worriedly at the boy in her son's arms.

"A prank that went too far, mama." Derek answered carefully, "His ankle is in a bad shape."

"First let him wash up, then we'll patch him."

Derek nodded and carried him upstairs. Reid took in his surroundings as he was taken up; the entire house gave a homely allure, there were comforter thrown on the sofa, books lying open on the dining table, picture frames on the walls depicting the family at every stage and the smell of a home cooked meal to complete the effect of a happy household. Once he was in the teen's room, Spencer was taken back. There wasn't a single thing that showed that the footballer was a stereotypical jock. There were some trophies with pictures of his previous team and some awards for his judo contest, but apart from that it showed a normal average high school students room. Only thing odd about it was it was comparatively tidy for a teenage male.

The teen had placed him on the bed and disappeared for a moment, before returning with a towel and a change on clothes.

"These are some of my old clothes, hope they fit." Morgan rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'll be here, just holler if you need anything." If the circumstance were different, Spencer would have laughed at the footballers 'out- of-his- element' moment. Nodding and accepting the pile of clothes, the pre-teen limped to the bathroom.

Once he was in the washroom and locking the door, the genius allowed himself to have a minor meltdown. Slowly sliding down to the tiled floor, Reid burrowed into the leather jacket. The dam broke and he let out a series of chocked sobs as he was flooded with a wave of emotions. Once the storm had passed and he was relatively calmer, Spencer inhaled the jacket for the scent that had soothed him throughout the entire ordeal. Placing the clothes carefully, the twelve year old unzipped the jacket and began to have his warm water shower.

Once he was washed, dried and changed, Reid took a look at himself in the bathroom mirror. The clothes were loose, but not swallowing him like the jacket had. This made the genius wonder on how old these clothes were. The clothes didn't seem to be that old and they were so small it was hard to imagine the teen this size.

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When he limped out of the bathroom, he was greeted by Derek carrying two mugs of warm coffee. The footballer motioned for him to sit on the bed and then placed a mug into his hand, before joining him on the single bed.

They sat by each other and sipped the beverage in silence, but Spencer's curiosity won over.

"Why are you doing this?" Reid asked looking at the brown liquid, still too shy to meet the teen's eyes.

There was a pause before the larger male answered, "Cause it's the right thing to do."

"That really doesn't answer the question." Spencer pressed, he had to know. But still didn't look up from his mug.

A chuckle was his reply until, "Let's just say, that I understand your situation."

"What does that mean?" the brunet couldn't imagine a person like Derek Morgan become a victim of bullying. Lifting his eyes for the first time and meeting the teen's gaze, Reid pleaded "Please, I need to know."

Morgan held the gaze for a moment as if searching for something, then turned his attention to the mug of coffee. Taking a sip from it, he began. "Back at Chicago in freshman year, I stood five feet three inches and weighed one hundred and twenty three pounds. So trust me when I say, I got my butt handed to me every day." Taking another sip of the cooling beverage, "The following summer I made friends with the weights and bulked up. I got lucky and grew an extra nine inches."

Then he looked at Reid straight in the eyes, "I am high school jock, but not at first. I did it for survival, kid. Not the vanity."

The pre-teen nodded the clothes he was wearing were Derek's before his growth spurt. Finishing his coffee, the teen took his mug and placed it near the bed side table. Then Morgan once again scooped the genius into his arms and walked towards the door. Before they left the room, Spencer heard the teen speak softly.

"Don't worry yourself about school, two more weeks and you'll never see them again. Just stick by me for the remaining time and no one will bother you."

"Thank you," It was all the brunet could say, "for everything." Before tucking his head under the teen's strong chin and closing his eyes. While soaking in the protection and comfort the larger male had to offer, something in the recess of his mind told him that everything was going to turn out for the better and that Derek Morgan was going to be part of something bigger in his life.

The last thing he remembered was making a non-committed noise to his classmate's suggestion.

"Now let's go down and patch you up, before mama kills me. Pretty Boy."


End file.
